It is legal for a government body to pray, even if the prayers reflect just one religion, according to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2014.

Jack Hoogendyk, Jr.(Photo: Photo courtesy of Marathon County)

When Hoogendyk suggested the county add prayer to its agendas he shared information about the 2014 ruling and highlighted that both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives pray when their members convene.

Hoogendyk is a new addition to the Marathon County Board and served as a Michigan state legislator before moving to Wisconsin. He ran for Congress in Michigan with the endorsement of Tea Party leaders and is the executive director of the Hope Life Center in Wausau, a pregnancy resource center.

The county clerk's office surveyed other Wisconsin counties earlier this year to see how common prayer is on their agendas. Nineteen of the 58 counties in the survey do have some sort of invocation at County Board meetings. At least 11 counties have a moment of silence for reflection or quiet prayer. And about half in the survey do neither.

"I think it’s a compromise," said Rules Review Committee member E.J. Stark about the moment of silence.

Marathon County used to have a prayer at meetings but stopped about eight years ago, Corporation Counsel Scott Corbett said at an earlier meeting on the subject.

If the full board adopts the recommended change, board members will have a moment of silence after reciting the pledge of allegiance. Members can pray silently at that time if they like, Stark said.

There is still a chance that board members will switch out the drafted moment of silence for an organized prayer or vote against it entirely.

The full County Board will likely take up the matter before the year ends, said Lance Leonhard, the county's deputy administrator. And it might go through the Executive Committee first.

Adding a prayer or moment of silence to county rules now will require a two-thirds vote.

New rule on hiring outside attorneys

Marathon County officials may have a new hoop to jump through to hire an outside attorney if the County Board agrees to a rule change.

The proposed rule change came as a reaction to the $43,000 bill for an outside investigation into County Administrator Brad Karger this summer. The Executive Committee intended to spend no more than $11,000 on the outside attorney they hired to look into complaints against Karger's participation in a controversial demonstration.

The county's attorney Scott Corbett looked at the city of Wausau's policy for guidance. He drafted a rule change that will require the hiring of any outside attorneys go through his office.

Like the proposed moment-of-silence rule change, this would require support from two-thirds of the County Board.